


Alternative Rings

by punkengineer



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Tattooed!Cas, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-17 02:02:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5849731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkengineer/pseuds/punkengineer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Cas have been together for a while, and they're ready to show their relationship off to the world. But rings are cliched, and what happens if they got lost? So Cas comes up with a different solution.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alternative Rings

**Author's Note:**

> there's a sort-of prequel to this, which can be found [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4562823). It's short, but it isn't necessary to read it to understand this one. It's pretty much just a history of Cas' tattoos.

They didn't wear rings. They didn't need to.

They never went to a church and got married under the eyes of God (or the law, but the Winchesters never cared much for the law to begin with). They both hated the man upstairs enough that never stepping into a church again was too soon for either of them (Cas still secretly held him in high regard, it'd been drilled too far into his head for him to not. But he did not believe that God cared even a little bit about what happened on earth, and resented him for it). Plus, Cas didn't think Dean could stand the whole 'traditional wedding' spiel.

Dean had wanted to do something though, a sort of informal symbol of their decision to dedicate themselves to each other forever. Cas had suggested rings, because they were traditional, and it was a good way of showing the world that they were each other's forever, despite what the church and the law said. Dean had been on board with the idea until one night, when he woke up from a nightmare covered in sweat and started babbling about how they couldn’t do rings, because "Cas, rings get lost, what if one of us loses it, what if it falls down the sink or what if it falls off while we're on a hunt, Cas? Cas, we can't do rings, I don't know what I'd do if they got lost." He'd babbled into Cas' shoulder about it for half an hour before Cas could calm him down enough for them to go back to sleep.

So they didn't do rings. Cas was at a loss as to what they would do instead, when he finally had an idea while they were driving through one of the bigger towns on their way to someplace else. He had been looking out the window, when he saw the tattoo parlor on the corner, a couple walking out hand in hand, matching bandages on their wrists. He was a little surprised at himself for not thinking of it sooner, since he already had a few tattoos of his own. So it only seemed natural to get one to commemorate his relationship with Dean. He thought about it for the rest of the car ride, what they might get, where they might put them. He thought over the heart would be a good, if cliche, idea, only he had that Saint Peter's cross on his chest, and he didn't think it was right to put his beloved's name so close to the symbol of unworthiness, because Cas believed that Dean Winchester deserved the world. He wanted to tell Dean as soon as he'd thought of it, but he also didn't want to discuss it in front of Sam, because this was a private and intimate discussion that they should have alone. So he contented himself to plan, so he would have something more solid to tell Dean than just "tattoos."

Cas was not as patient as he sometimes seemed to be, so he decided to talk to Dean as soon as they were alone, which was right as they were settling down in their hotel rooms for the night (Sam got his own room now, he was tired of walking in from a food run or a library trip to find his brother and Cas doing things he didn't really want to see). They were both tired, and Cas' ideas were still only half-formed, but he was so excited about it that he needed to share it with Dean as soon as he could.  
Dean was hunched over his duffle, trying to find all his stuff for a shower. Cas walked up to him and put his hand on Dean's arm, which made Dean look up.

"Dean, I think I found something we could do instead of getting rings," Castiel said, hope and happiness in his eyes. He wanted to do this, find this physical thing to bind him and Dean together.

"Yea, Cas? What is it?"

"Tattoos."

Dean looked at Cas with trepidation shining in his eyes, and said, "You know, Cas, I really don't like tattoos. I got the one, but that’s outta necessity."

Cas frowned. He'd thought it was brilliant, and the idea that Dean didn't like it made him sad.

"What don't you like about tattoos, Dean?"

"Cas, man, It's not that I don't mind having tattoos, or would really mind getting more, and yours are amazing, but gettin' 'em done is what scares me. I almost broke Sammy's fingers getting the anti-possession one, and that didn't even hurt that bad."

Cas stepped closer to Dean then, sensing that he was getting close to losing himself from fear. He wrapped his arms around Dean and pulled him into his chest, and just held him there. Dean in turn wrapped his arms around Cas and rested their foreheads together.

"What scares you so much about getting a tattoo, Dean? I know it's not the pain, not entirely anyway. You've had so much worse, that the sting of a needle can't be that bad, can it?" Cas' voice was quiet, like he was trying to soothe Dean with his words so they could maybe finish this conversation before Dean decided that he'd had enough "touchy-feely crap" for the day.

"It's just... that... God, this is hard to say... uhm... I don't really like to get tattooed because it feels really intimate... I dunno... it's stupid..."

"Dean, it is most certainly not stupid. What do you mean that it feels intimate?" Cas was still talking in that soothing voice, damn him. It made Dean feel like a spooked deer, liable to take off at top speed any second. But he kept talking anyway, even though it was difficult to talk about, because he knew that Cas wouldn't judge him.

"Well... uhm... just... getting tattooed feels really intimate. Because there's a person, a stranger, touching you in places that normally strangers don't touch... and they're marking you forever. It takes a lot of trust to let someone do that to you, man." Dean took a deep breath, and brought himself back to reality, focusing on Cas' face right in front of his instead of inside his own head, where previously suppressed memories of getting his anti-possession tattoo were running free.

"Dean, if getting a tattoo is going to make you that uncomfortable, we don't have to do it. We can find something else." Cas said it reassuringly, but inside he was sad, because he thought that tattoos would have been a great physical memento of their commitment, since tattoos were the most permanent thing he knew of. But he'd get over it, if it was something that Dean wasn't okay with.

"No, Cas. I just... Can I think about it for a bit?" Dean pulled his bottom lip into his mouth and started to worry it with his teeth.

"Of course, Dean. Take all the time you need."

Cas grabbed Dean's face in his hands and kissed his forehead before pulling away and going over to their duffle and pulling out the toiletry bag, and then going into the bathroom to shower.

\----------

About a week later, in another roach motel in another forgettable town, Dean and Castiel are sitting on the bed watching crap television to pass the time. Without warning, Dean shifts from his position beside Cas, throwing a leg over the other man so he's sitting on top of him. Cas looks at him curiously, waiting to see what the other man wants.

"I'm ready to talk about the tattoos again," he says, holding eye contact with Cas.

"Okay. What did you decide?" Cas keeps his face neutral, trying hard to not let Dean see the hope in his eyes, in case he wants to say no, but doesn't because he sees how bad Cas wants this.

"I wanna do it." Dean's voice isn't as confident as it normally is, and Castiel narrows his eyes at him.

"Are you sure?" Castiel needs to know. He won't go through with this if he catches even the smallest hint that Dean doesn't want to do it.

Dean looks away and nods his head

"Dean," Cas warns, "If you don't want this, I don't want this. We can come up with something else."

"No, Cas, I want this. Really, I do. I'm just nervous. Just because I want this doesn't mean I'm not still scared outta my skin about getting it done."

He looks up at Cas then, daring him to find any lies in his face. Cas searches for a bit, but apparently doesn't find any, because he pushes himself up to meet Dean, and kisses him softly.

"I'm glad, Dean. Do you want to discuss the details now, or would you rather do that later?" Cas gives him another short kiss when he's done talking, but pulls away quickly so Dean can answer.

"Uh, now, I guess. What kind of details?" Dean looks a bit nervous again, so Cas runs his hands up and down Dean's arms to soothe him.

"Details like what we would get, and where to get them. I was thinking that we would get each other's names, but we can do something else if you don't like that idea." Cas was still gently rubbing Dean's arms, although it felt more like he was grounding himself rather than Dean. He was ecstatic that they were actually going to do this.

"Yea, the names idea is pretty cool. Let's stick with that. But where we would get them? You're already practically covered, man, what with those huge ass wings that go halfway down your arms, and that cross that covers almost half your chest, and that little pride flag you got by your elbow. Where were you thinkin' of puttin' this new one? Not on your legs, I hope?

"No, Dean, not on my legs. Here," he said, pointing to the inside of his upper arm.

"Why there?"

"Because I've heard that that is the most painful place on your arm to get tattooed, and I want this mark to be more than a mark, I want it to have a meaning that is deeper than the ink," Castiel said. He sounded like he'd put a lot of thought into this, even though he'd only been thinking about it for a few hours.

"And what meaning is that? And are you really gonna make the guy who hates getting inked tattoo the most painful spot on his arm? Are you crazy?" The last part was said affectionately, but Dean was a little antsy about having to get a tattoo on the most sensitive part of his arm.

"The meaning is that there was a lot of pain and hurt before there was the good thing that we have now. Getting here was painful, Dean, for both of us. There was death, and abandonment, an apocalypse or two, a war, and who knows what else. And I don't want to forget that. I want to remember what it took to get to here, to get happiness."

Dean couldn't really argue with that. The road to where they were now had been long and painful and wrought with obstacles the size of mountains. He took a deep breath.

"Yea, okay," he said.

"You're sure?"

"Yes. Stop asking me that. Can we go to sleep now?" Dean punctuated his last statement with a loud yawn.

"Yes, Dean, we can go to sleep."

Cas ran a hand through Dean's hair as he leaned back into the mattress, pulling Dean off his thighs as he did so. Dean curled up around Cas' side, putting one arm around his waist and his head on Cas' shoulder, sighing contentedly. Cas pulled the blankets over both of them, and they fell asleep.

\----------

After that, every time they rolled into a new town, Cas would stake out all the tattoo parlors, trying to find one that, a, had good artists, and b, Dean would be comfortable in. So most of the dingy hole-in-the-wall places were out immediately, because even if they had good artists, Cas was sure that they looked a little too seedy for Dean's comfort.

Finally, one day about a month after Dean had told him that he wanted to get the tattoos, they were passing through Idaho on their way to Oregon, Cas spotted a promising looking place while they were cruising around looking for a place to stay for the night. It was a nice enough looking place, right in the middle of town, located in the basement of an apartment building that looked like a castle.

While Sam and Dean were getting dinner from a place that served "fries with burgers on the side," Castiel went into the tattoo parlor to talk to the artists. It was later in the day, so there was only one person there when he walked in.

"Welcome to Chalice Tattoo, I'm Nate, how can I help you?" The young man asked as he walked towards the front from where he'd been sitting at a table in the back. He was covered in tattoos, even had some on his neck, and stretched ears.

"Hello. My name is Castiel. Are you an artist here?"

"Yep, sure am. You lookin' to get a tattoo?"

"Yes, but not just me. My..." Cas trailed off, struggling to find a word to use to describe his relationship with Dean. They'd never talked about putting words to what they had; not conventional ones, anyway. They'd never needed them, it wasn't like they talked to very many people besides themselves and Sam.

"My... fiancé and I wanted to get matching tattoos, but they're very nervous about getting it done. So I wanted to check out any potential places and artists before we chose a place." Cas thought fiancé would work well, since technically that's what they were. They'd promised to pledge themselves to each other for eternity, so the word seemed apt. He'd also opted to use gender-neutral pronouns for Dean, since Idaho was a pretty conservative state, and Cas didn't want to rub this guy the wrong way after only just meeting him.

"Well, I can show you my portfolio if you like. When were you thinking about getting it done?"

"Yes, I'd like to see your portfolio. And soon, tomorrow or the day after if you can manage it. We're not going to be in town long."

Nate handed Cas his portfolio, and then went over to the computer to presumably look at the schedule while Cas looked at his art.

"If you're not looking to do anything too complicated, I have a few hours open after lunch tomorrow," Nate said.

"It shouldn't be. We're just getting some lettering," Cas replied while still flipping through the portfolio. "These are really good, I think you'll be a great artist for what we want. It's Dean's decision though, in the end."

"I understand. Dean your fiancé, then?"

Cas' eyes widened, but Nate didn't seem to care that Dean was male. "Yes, he is. You don't care?"

"'Course not, man. And no one else who works in this shop will either. Hey, since we're doing this whole thing tomorrow, why don't you give me what you guys want done so I can have sketches ready when you come in? You said you wanted lettering, right?"

"Yes. We're just going to get our names, nothing too fancy. Dean Winchester for mine and Castiel Winchester for his."

"Okay. Any font preferences?"

"Hm, no, I don't think so. Nothing too frilly, though. Dean is very masculine."

"Alright, got it. See you guys tomorrow, then!"

Castiel waved his farewell as he left the shop to go find Sam and Dean at the burger place.

\----------

The next day, Dean and Cas went to get ice cream while Sam did research for the Oregon case at the local library. Dean hadn't wanted ice cream initially, but Cas had talked him into it because he knew that the ice cream shop was right across the street from the tattoo parlor.

They sat at one of the tables outside, lazily eating their ice cream, admiring the architecture of the building across the street, and watching the few people that happened to walk by.

"I found a tattoo parlour yesterday," Cas said casually.

"What? Really? Where? I didn't exactly peg this place as having an abundance of tattoo shops."

"Right across the street, actually. And there are many tattoo shops here, Dean."

"When are we getting them done, then?" Dean sounded a bit more nervous, just knowing he was close to the shop.

"As soon as we're done with our ice cream, actually."

"Wow, Cas. Way to give a guy some notice. You couldn't've told me yesterday that you'd found a place?"

"I wanted to surprise you. I see now that may not have been the best idea. But the person I talked to yesterday had a very impressive portfolio, and he was very kind. You have no reason to be afraid, Dean."

"Yea, okay, if you say so," Dean took a deep breath, and continued, "Well, what're we waitin' for? Let's get this over with."

"Whatever you say, Dean."

They got up from the table, threw out their trash, and walked down to the tattoo parlor. When they walked in, Nate was sitting at the front counter waiting for them.

"Hey, guys! You ready to do this? You must be Dean. I'm Nate, pleasure to meet you," he said, holding out his hand.

"Hi," Dean said, taking Nate's hand. His was shaking a bit from nerves, he hoped Nate didn't notice.

"Let's get started then. Who wants to go first?"

Castiel glanced over at Dean, who looked a little bit spooked. He directed his gaze back to Nate and said, "I will."

Nate led both of them to the back of the shop where his chair was, and told Cas and Dean to take a seat so he could show them the designs he'd worked up the night before. Cas loved them immediately. They were fancy, but not in such a way that they were frilly. The letters were simple, but with the uppercase, tall, and hanging letters spiking out in an interesting, nonsensical pattern.

"What do you think, Dean? Do you like them?" Castiel asked.

"Yea, Cas, they're great. You're a good artist, Nate."

"Thank you, Dean. Now Cas, let's get this placed and then I can start inking it."

Nate put the stencil on Cas' arm, and when Cas said he was happy with the placement, he directed Castiel to lay on his back in the chair, left arm stretched out to the side. He pulled a chair over from another booth for Dean, so he could sit on Castiel's right through the tattoo, since it wouldn't take very long to do.

"There. All done," Nate said a couple hours later, giving Cas' arm one final wipe with his cloth.

"Your turn, Dean," Cas said as he stood up from the chair. "Don't worry, it's not that bad, and I'll be here the whole time."

"Yea, okay." Dean got up from the chair and lay down on the tattoo chair while Cas took the seat he'd been occupying.

Dean’s grip on Cas’ hand didn’t loosen the entire time Nate was tattooing him, but Cas could see in his face that as the minutes ticked by, the pressure on his hand was less and less because of fear, and more about the pain of getting a tattoo on the inside of your bicep.

After what felt like forever to Dean, Nate gave his arm one final swipe with his rag and announced that he was done. Dean got up from the table and walked over to the mirror to look at the finished tattoo. It was red and puffy, but Cas had reminded him that that was normal. Besides that, it looked fantastic. The style was unique, some of the letters extended and jutting out in interesting ways, but not in a frilly way.

After Dean appropriately praised Nate for the wonderful work he’d done, Nate wrapped up both his and Cas’ arm with plastic wrap, telling them to treat it like they would any other wound, lest it get infected. Castiel assured him that they would, payed him, thanked him again, and walked out of the shop.

As they turned to walk back to where they had left the car, they spotted Sam sitting at one of the tables outside the ice cream place, picking at whatever ice cream he’d bought with a spoon. He looked up just as they were stepping up onto the curb.

“Hey Sammy! What’re you doin’ over here? I thought you were down at the library researching?” Dean said as he snagged one of the chairs next to Sam and sat down.

“Hey Dean. Cas. I got all I can from the library here, and I can’t do more till we get to that town, so we should leave as soon as we can. And I came over here because I really like Ben & Jerry’s, and I haven’t had any in ages. They don’t have a shop anywhere near the bunker; the closest one’s in Denver. Where were you guys?”

“Across the street, at the tattoo parlor,” Cas said, pointing to the building on the corner, where Sam could see a railing that meant there was a staircase leading to below the level of the street.

“You get another tattoo, Cas?”

“I did. Dean did too. He was very brave about it, I’m proud of him.”

Sam looked like he was about to ask to see them, and Dean wasn’t really ready to show him. He needed a chance to get used to them himself, first. So before Sam could say anything, he blurted out, “You done with your ice cream yet? C’mon let’s get going and save that town before anyone else dies.”

**Author's Note:**

> This doesn't really feel finished to me, but I don't know what else to add, or how to even transition from where I left it. If you want me to write a sequel piece, you should message me on tumblr (same username) and let me know, otherwise I probably won't. This thing took me way too long to write, and I'm just glad I made it to a point where I can conceivably just leave it.


End file.
